world travel stories

World Travel Guide - Official Destination Guides and Travel Stories

World Travel Guide

Editorial Foreword

The World Travel Guide (WTG) is the flagship digital consumer brand within the Columbus Travel Media portfolio . Available in English, German, and Spanish versions, the WTG provides detailed and accurate travel content designed to inspire global travellers. It covers all aspects, from cities to airports, cruise ports to ski and beach resorts, attractions to events, and it also includes offbeat travel news, stories, quizzes and guides for adventurous travellers.

Travel Features

Saudi Arabia – redefining a nation through tourism

Saudi Arabia is on a mission to transform itself into one of the world's top tourist destinations by 2030

Indonesian island hopping: 11 of the best islands

Indonesia's accessible island chains allow travellers in search of blissful beach scenes and tropical adventure to island-hop to their heart's content

Bike-friendly cities around the world

Cycling is kind to your health, your wallet and the environment; it is also an excellent way to take in the city

16 lesser-known but Instagram-worthy European cities

Forget big cities like Amsterdam and London, we find 16 smaller but stunning cities in Europe that can light up your Instagram and rack up likes

Experience Croatia on the water

Sun-kissed Croatia is most magical when seen from its turquoise waters, says CroatiaLuxuryGulet.com

Holiday on a budget: 21 great travel tips

If you’re craving a break but feeling the squeeze, don’t panic. It’s possible to travel on a budget without compromising on quality

Getting high: 13 of the best adrenaline activities

From death-defying heights to nail-biting adventures, these adrenaline activities will definitely get your heart pumping

Seven days in Marrakech

Make the most of a week in Marrakech, including day trips to Ourika and the Atlas Mountains, with our seven-day guide and travel tips

My secret London

London has a curious air of quirkiness enhanced by a string of lesser-known nooks that locals have kept close to their chests, writes Thomas Clarke

Food and Drink

Los Angeles food & drink guide: 10 things to try in Los Angeles, California

From celebrity chefs to timeless burger joints, lively Los Angeles has a wide range of dishes to impress you; here are the top 10 things to try

London food & drink guide: 10 things to try in London

As one of the most diverse cities in the world, London’s culinary scene offers an eclectic mixture of British classics and modern, multicultural cuisine

Are eggs good or bad for you?

Chicken eggs are nutritious and versatile, but are they good or bad for you?

Italian wine for major occasions

Great wine can amp up your mood and enhance your experience, and this guide can help you choose fantastic Italian wine for major foodie and special occasions

The complete guide to Bulgarian wine

Bulgaria is not yet a well-known wine country, but that is about to change as Bulgarian wineries are carving an admirable niche

Thai Wine – A remarkable success story

A feat to be admired, we take you through Thai wine’s remarkable journey to success

City Guides

Bustling and energetic, Osaka is a thriving metropolis with a distinct commercial culture and with a regional identity that sets it apart from elsewhere in Japan.

Paris rarely disappoints. Home to beautiful architecture, arresting art and the world’s finest restaurants, only the hard–hearted will leave the City of Light without falling in love.

Sandwiched between the Red Sea and the mighty Negev desert, Eilat is a water sport and desert adventure paradise. The southernmost city of Israel has all the hallmarks of a fantastic sun and fun holiday.

Country/ State/ Region Guides

A flavourful melting pot of sparkling nightspots, fresh seafood, sizzling Mediterranean passion and mythical legend, Greece is a fascinating and enchanting destination.

The eyes of the world are on Qatar right now. Following the discovery of oil in the 1940s, this small Gulf state has been catapulted from a small fishing and trading hub to one of the richest (per capita) countries in the world.

The Islands of Tahiti

The Islands of Tahiti are known for their laid-back vibes. Expect romantic sunsets and giant curls of turquoise breaking over reefs. Remote and pristine, the islands give you a glimpse of paradise on Earth.

Mongolia is far-flung and little visited yet has much to offer, from the stunning scenery and wildlife of mountains and deserts to the emerging luxury hotels and restaurants of capital Ulaanbaatar.

Much like the varying conditions of classic cars, Havana appears to be in a constant state of restoration. A mishmash of beautifully restored colonial buildings rubs shoulders with dilapidated tenements of regular Cubans.

© Columbus Travel Media Ltd. All rights reserved 2024

World Travel Stories

May 21, 2024 • 7 min read

Planning a backpacking adventure? From buying a backpack to choosing your travel wardrobe, we've got you covered with packing tips and space-saving ideas.

May 21, 2024 • 11 min read

Looking to travel for Pride festivities in 2024? Here are 12 cities all over the world that offer a plethora of joyous parades, street fairs and parties.

May 19, 2024 • 6 min read

Preparing for a festival this year? Don’t panic – from practicalities to planet-friendly tips, we’ve got it covered.

May 17, 2024 • 14 min read

All around the world, flowers add a magical new layer to our favorite travel destinations. Here are the best places to see the most beautiful blooms.

May 15, 2024 • 7 min read

The natural world is full of wonders, but is there anything more mesmerizing than things that glow?

May 9, 2024 • 6 min read

Sleeper services are making a welcome comeback. We answer FAQs to help you prepare for your first overnight train journey.

May 8, 2024 • 5 min read

With a little planning, a memorable, affordable family vacation is well within reach. Here’s how.

Apr 30, 2024 • 4 min read

Save money when booking your flight with these tips on finding the best airfare deals.

Apr 23, 2024 • 6 min read

From Paris to Buenos Aires, you’ll want to settle in and raise a glass at these famous literary bars, notebook at the ready.

Apr 20, 2024 • 9 min read

A cooking class is a great way to get acquainted with a new destination. Food writer, Malia Yoshioka, shares her guide to the world's best.

Apr 19, 2024 • 10 min read

Summer is just around the corner in the northern hemisphere. Here's where the Lonely Planet team is going.

Apr 15, 2024 • 10 min read

From chilling on the beaches of Bora Bora to eating shellfish in Cape Cod, USA, here are the best places to visit in June.

Mar 26, 2024 • 8 min read

All built within the last 150 years, these stunning buildings around the world are monuments that will stand the test of time.

Mar 21, 2024 • 3 min read

Should travelers be worried about flying on Boeing planes after recent safety incidents?

Mar 20, 2024 • 8 min read

Rouse your wanderlust with wildlife encounters and intrepid journeys to the best places to go in May.

Mar 19, 2024 • 6 min read

All the exhilaration of swimming in the sea without the terrifying depths: check out these amazing ocean pools.

Mar 13, 2024 • 6 min read

From Montréal to Montserrat, if you can't make it to Ireland, these St Patrick's Day parties are the next best thing.

Mar 11, 2024 • 8 min read

The privacy of a plunge pool suite lets you relax in bliss. Here are the world's best.

Mar 8, 2024 • 7 min read

Hotels companies worldwide are transforming grand railroad stations into glamorous hotels. These are the most magnificent.

Mar 4, 2024 • 8 min read

From swimming in protected waters frequented by whale sharks to spotting colorful fish over a reef, here are the world's best places to snorkel.

Mar 4, 2024 • 4 min read

Ramadan Mubarak! Here's everything travelers need to know about visiting Muslim-majority places during Ramadan.

Mar 1, 2024 • 6 min read

For many cultures, the spring equinox signifies a rebirth. Here are 12 incredible places to mark the changing of the season this year.

19 Inspiring Travel Experience Stories About Life-Changing Trips

Love inspiring travel experience stories ?

Then you’re in the right place!

Grab a snack and your favorite beverage and get ready to settle in, as you’re about to read some truly inspiring travel stories about life-changing trips.

In this roundup, some of my favorite bloggers share their best travel stories.

You’ll hear about travelers embarking on sacred pilgrimages, growing after a first solo female travel trip, deeply connecting with locals on the road, and getting out of their comfort zones in ways that completely alter the course of their life.

And if you’re looking for a unique travel experience, you’ll likely find it in the short stories about travel below.

Table of Contents

Free Travel Resources

But first… before we dive into these stories about travelling…

Make sure to grab free access to my #BeyondTheGuidebook Travel Resource Library:

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I regularly share about solo female travel, New York City, lesser-known destinations, unique experiences, active adventures, and how to turn your passion for exploring the world into a profitable business through travel blogging.

Click here to head back to the travel blog .

There is so much included!

Plus, I’m constantly adding new resources, guides, and personality quizzes to help you travel beyond the guidebook!

On that note, let’s dive into the inspiring travel stories .

1. Travel Experience Stories In South America

My travel story takes place in South America, back when I used to travel solo for months at a time.

I was in my mid-20s, and even though I’d backpacked Europe, Southeast Asia, and China and had studied abroad in Australia, the mix of intense excitement and nerves I had leading up to my South America backpacking trip was different.

And despite family and friends warning me that South America wasn’t a place for a solo female traveler , it ended up being my best trip ever and one of my life changing trips!

There are so many interesting short travel stories and unforgettable travel experiences woven into this trip, like:

• Getting invited to have dinner with my Brazilian plane seatmate and her grandma
• Having a group of complete strangers on Couchsurfing take me out for dinner and dancing on my birthday in Mendoza
• Attending a small house party in Argentina and learning about the tradition of mate
• Getting stuck on a broken-down bus and having an impromptu language exchange with an elderly woman in Peru
• Having a love interest back home break up with me via text, and then experiencing the kindness of strangers as a woman in my hostel who I barely knew treated me to ice cream to cheer me up
• Having a romance with a hostel mate in Ecuador and then traveling through the country together
• Living in a giant treehouse with a group of strangers during a solo trip in Brazil and spending our days exploring hiking trails and swimming and our nights drinking and exchanging stories about traveling
• Taking a 4×4 from Chile to Bolivia across the Siloli Desert to see otherwordly sites like rainbow lagoons and train graveyards in the middle of nowhere
• Experiencing some of the world’s most incredible natural wonders, like Iguazu Falls, Torres del Paine, the Amazon River, Uyuni Salt Flats, and Perito Moreno Glacier

At times the trip was also challenging, from dealing with long bus rides and car sickness to flipping over my bicycle handlebars in Peru and getting my body (and ego) badly bruised.

But, I was okay.

In fact, I was more than okay, as the trip showed me how independent I could be and what I was truly capable of. It also showed me the beauty of immersing yourself in cultures different than your own and connecting with locals who want to share them with you.

Years later, when people ask what my best travel experience has been this is the trip that comes to mind.

-Jessie from Jessie on a Journey

2. Traveling With An Open Mind

Many people think of travel as an experience and rightly so. Sometimes, however, you cannot choose the places you travel to.

This happened to me in 2019.

My husband found himself posted in Brunei for work.

Three months pregnant meant that I had a choice:

Either stay with him in Brunei for three months before returning back to India or remain in India, alone.

I chose the former. Not because of my love for the country but because I wanted to be close to him.

Brunei had never held any appeal to me. Whatever research that I pulled off the Internet showed me nothing other than one beautiful mosque.

The flights in and out of the country were expensive so traveling frequently out was not an option either.

I was engulfed by a sense of being trapped in a remote place.

Needless to say, I reached Brunei in a pretty foul mood. I think one of the things that struck me the most even in the midst of that bad mood was the large swaths of greenery that surrounded us.

Mind you, we were not staying in the big city but as far away on the outskirts as you could imagine. I’m not a city girl by any stretch and the greenery eventually soothed my nerves.

It took a week, but I soon found myself interacting with people around me. Fellow expats and locals all went out of their way to make me feel comfortable.

The more comfortable I felt, the more we explored. We trekked (yes, while pregnant!), we joined the board game community, and we enjoyed the local cuisine.

Three months later when it was time to leave, I found myself reluctant to say goodbye to the warmth of the country I had called home for a short while. I ended up having some of the most meaningful travel experiences there.

I think that my time in Brunei taught me a valuable lesson:

Don’t judge a place by what others say or a lack of information.

Sure, you may not always like what you see, but there will always be something that you will like. You just need to look hard enough to find it!

-Penny from GlobeTrove

3. From Half-Day Hiker To Walking Holiday Enthusiast

I’ve always enjoyed walking but never in a million years did I imagine I’d end up walking over 200 kilometers (~124 miles) in 10 days, become a fan of walking holidays, and end up developing self-guided hiking routes in Portugal with a local tour operator as part of my business.

The shift from being someone who was content with an easy three-hour walk to an experienced multi-day hiker began with a brief taste of the Portuguese Camino de Santiago, an ancient pilgrim trail through Portugal to Santiago de Compostela Cathedral in Spain.

Back in 2013 I did a guided one-day hike along one of the most beautiful stretches of the Camino, north of Ponte de Lima. It’s also one of the most challenging sections so it was hard work, but the views from the top of Labruja Mountain made the climb worthwhile.

My guides were so enthusiastic about the thrill of arriving at Santiago de Compostela Cathedral after the challenges of day after day on the Camino that I began to think I might want to give it a go, despite not being religious.

Fast forward a few years and I set off from Barcelos with a friend of mine to follow the Portuguese Camino de Santiago.

Apart from suffering from chronic back pain, I thought I was quite fit but nothing had prepared me for how utterly exhausted I would feel at the end of each walking day.

This was truly a slow travel experience, as we were averaging about 20 kilometers (~12 miles) per day and by the time we reached our hotel, I would barely have enough energy to get cleaned up and find food before collapsing. I had envisioned plenty of sightseeing but that ended up being minimal.

Quickly, I realized the moral of this unique travel experience:

The Camino was all about making the most of the journey rather than the destination.

For me, that was quite a shift in thinking as I am usually all about getting to where I want to be as soon as possible so that I can start exploring. It was, perhaps, also my first step on the path towards mindfulness.

I will never forget the sense of achievement and progress at the end of each walking day, and the relief and pride I felt when we finally made it to Santiago de Compostela.

We met people who had walked the Camino several times and I can totally understand how it can become addictive. 

Walking the Camino is one of the life changing travel experiences for many people!

-Julie from Julie Dawn Fox in Portugal

4. A Story About Traveling & Its Ripple Effect

Tucked away in far eastern Indonesia is a tiny archipelago of islands called the Banda Islands.

Apart from world-class snorkeling and some crumbling colonial buildings, the Banda Islands are mostly forgotten and would be described as a backwater by all accounts.

However, the Banda Islands are possibly the main reason that I am who I am today. 

Well, the Bandas are the original Spice Islands.

Nutmeg used to grow on this tiny group of islands alone and nowhere else. The Dutch colonized Indonesia and promptly became the owners of islands where money grew on trees.

The only problem was that Indonesia was so far away that they needed a halfway stop to and from Indonesia.

That’s where my travel experience story comes in.

The same Dutch East India Company that traded in spice set up a halfway station at the foot of Table Mountain to break up their long journey. As a result, my Dutch ancestors arrived in the southernmost point in Africa , and generations later we are still there.

When I visited the Banda Islands, it dawned on me how something happening on the other side of the world can ripple out and affect people on the other side of the planet.

And I’m not the only one!

The spice trade was so important to the Dutch that they even traded a tiny island in the Banda archipelago for a much bigger island…Manhattan.

Yes. That Manhattan.

Before visiting the Banda Islands I never really knew about this part of my history.

Along with the spice that the ships carried back to Amsterdam, it also carried slaves. These slaves, more often than not, ended up in Cape Town.

Just like my European ancestors, they too became a part of Africa and added another shade to our beautiful Rainbow Nation.

It was in the Banda Islands that I realized how much of my culture, food, stories and even words in my mother tongue, Afrikaans, actually originated in Indonesia.

Because of these tiny islands, I am a true mix of Europe, Africa, and Asia. While I always thought I knew how all things in life are somehow connected, I didn’t really grasp it until my visit to Indonesia.

This could have been a resort travel experience story, as I went to Indonesia to swim and snorkel and relax on the world’s best beaches. And while I did get to do that, I also learned a lot about who I am as a person, my people, and my country…on another continent. 

It is a travel experience I will never forget!

My visit to the Bandas has sparked a fascination with Indonesia, which I have visited seven times since. I’m already planning another trip to this spectacular country!

-De Wet from Museum of Wander

5. Awakening My Spirit In A Costa Rican Cloud Forest

In February 2017, I was just coming out of a decade of mysterious chronic illness that had shrunk my world.

And one of the things that finally helped me to resurface during the previous year was an online Qi Gong course I stumbled upon: 

Flowing Zen .

To the casual observer, Qi Gong looks a lot like its better-known cousin, Tai Chi — the ancient art of moving meditation — but it’s actually energy medicine for healing.

In fact, it’s commonly used in Chinese hospitals.

My daily practice that year made such a difference for me that I dangled a reward for myself:

If I stuck with it all year, then I’d head to Sifu Anthony’s annual retreat in a cloud forest in Costa Rica the following February.

And I did! It was my first trip out of the country for more than a decade.

Just like that, I booked a solo trip — something I hadn’t done since I was an exchange student to Europe 30 years earlier — to San Jose where I met up with a dozen strangers and Sifu Anthony, our Qi Gong master.

We boarded a tiny bus and rode up, up, up around carsick-inducing curvy mountain roads into a magical cloud forest jungle where we finally arrived at The Blue Mountain (“La Montana Azul”) for a weeklong Qi Gong retreat. 

There were no Internet or distractions here — just delicious organic vegetarian meals made with love and shared with the community under a gorgeous open-air palapa.

There were also colorful tropical birds singing in the jungle, as well as the largest arachnid I’ve ever seen in my gorgeous (but also roofless) room for a little extra adventure.

I’d felt a little energy movement during my year of online practice, but during that week on The Blue Mountain, my body began to really buzz with Qi — life force energy — as I Lifted the Sky, stood in Wuji Stance, and practiced Shooting Arrows.

I felt electrified and joyful. 

And that was when everything changed for me.

At home, I had a successful career as a freelance writer, but I decided during my week in the cloud forest that I wanted more from life.

I wanted to explore the beauty, diversity, nature, and culture in every corner of the world.

And I wanted to share this intoxicating joyful feeling of life-giving freedom and adventure with anyone who wanted to come along for the ride.

Shortly after that, at age 53, I launched my travel blog.

Dreams really do come true. They are just waiting for you to claim them.

-Chris from Explore Now or Never

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6. From Rome With Love

This wasn’t the way I wanted to see Rome. 

Sure, I was happy to spend Christmas in Rome and stand in awe of the city’s many iconic attractions. But, life wasn’t meant to turn out like this.

I was supposed to go to Rome with my mom back in 2012; however, life had different plans, because a week before our trip, I got a double kidney infection. A condition that required a week of hospitalization.

Although I was annoyed I had missed my trip, it wasn’t the end of the world since I was fine and everything seemed okay…until my mom developed a cough.

A cough that later became a heartbreaking diagnosis of stage four ovarian cancer. 

My mom spent the final months of her life in chemo, desperately trying to fight a horrific disease so that she wouldn’t let her family down.

And she didn’t.

Instead, she showed us how to never give up on life, even if it was a losing battle. 

So, when she eventually passed away, I booked a trip to Rome. 

Sure, it wasn’t the trip I had hoped for. But, I knew that as her daughter, it was my job to live enough for the both of us. 

And that’s exactly what I did.

Was I an anxious, sad, angry mess of a person?

Absolutely. I was still getting used to a world that my mother wasn’t a part of. 

And honestly, you never get used to that world. You just deal with it because you don’t really have a choice.

But I also knew that I wanted my mom to live on through me and that I didn’t want to live a life where the haunting phrases “should of,” “could of,” and “would have” swirled through my head and ate away at my happiness.

So, I went. I packed a boatload of tissues, sobbed my heart out, and attended Christmas mass at the Vatican. 

I also threw a coin in the Trevi Fountain, walked through the Colosseum, chowed down on gelato, and spent two weeks doing all the things my mom and I had wanted to do. 

And that’s when it hit me. I had never gone to Rome alone because my mom had always been there with me. Maybe she wasn’t physically there, but I thought of her and felt her presence every minute of every day. 

Her presence also reminded me that life isn’t about the things we buy or the money that we have.

It’s about making memories with the people we love; people that never really leave us since they are constantly influencing our lives in countless ways.

And after my trip to Rome, I finally knew that my mom would always be there because she had forever changed my life in the best possible way. 

-Kelly from Girl with the Passport

7. Studying In Finland

One of my major life-turning points happened during my exchange studies in Finland.

Until then, I was studying at a university in Prague, had a part-time job at a renowned management-consulting firm, and thought I was on the right path in life.

At the University of Economics where I studied it was notoriously difficult to get on an Erasmus exchange trip abroad since the demand was huge. Everyone wanted to go!

Regardless, I decided to sign up early for my last semester, just to see what the process was like to be better prepared for applying again in a year.

I did make it through all the three rounds and surprisingly got a spot at a University in Turku, Finland! I was ecstatic. The success brought its own challenges, but once you set your eyes on the goal, nothing can stop you.

And I had the time of my life in Finland. It was a fantastic personal travel experience.

I met the most amazing people, traveled a ton, partied a lot, and bonded with friends from all over the world.

Given I was one of the few people there who really needed to pass all her courses and additionally write her thesis, I managed to run on an impossible sleep schedule of four hours per night. But I made it!

My studies in Finland opened up my horizons, too.

The summer after, I wrapped up my life in Prague and went on to study in Germany and China . The whole time I traveled as much as possible, often going on solo adventures. It was only a matter of time when I’d start my own travel blog.

My Finland adventure led me to a life of freedom made up of remote work, travel blogging , and plenty of traveling. I couldn’t have asked for a better outcome. And it gave me one of my favorite true adventure stories that I can now share with others.

-Veronika from Travel Geekery

8. How Cuba Changed My Life

One of my favorite inspiring stories about travel takes place in Cuba.

I visited Cuba in February 2013 and it changed my life — and I like to think it did so for the better.

Interestingly, I expected a completely different country and was compelled to write about it when I got back home.

But let me tell you more.

I read copious amounts of blogs and travel diaries to prepare myself for the trip to Cuba so I thought I’d go in with a fairly good idea of what to expect. Each and every post I read spoke of marvelous landscapes, pristine beaches, crumbling but charming cities, and welcoming locals.

All of it was true, in my experience — except for the locals.

I didn’t find them so welcoming. At least, not genuinely so. They only seemed to welcome me as far as they could get something in exchange: money, clothes, pens, soap, you name it. 

Each and every day in Cuba was a challenge to avoid the scams, to avoid being ripped off, to fight off each and every attempt of people trying to take advantage of me. I usually managed, but it was exhausting and it left a sour taste in my mouth.

Once I got back home I felt the urge to write about my experience — not for other sites or papers as I’d often do. This time I was afraid I’d be censored.

So I opened my own blog. With zero tech knowledge, zero understanding of online content creation and SEO, I started writing and telling people what they should really expect during a trip to Cuba.

I’d put up the occasional post, but continued with my usual job.

At the end of the year, my contract as a researcher in international human rights law at the local university ended, and I decided to stop pursuing that career for a while.

I packed my bags and left for a long-term trip to Central and South America . I started writing on the blog more consistently and learning, and eventually took my blog full-time , turning it into a career.

As of today, I have never looked back and have no regrets. This was a life changing traveling experience.

The one thing I’ll do, as soon as I can, is travel to Cuba to say thank you — because it changed my life in a way nothing else has ever done. 

-Claudia from Strictly Sardinia

9. A Short Travel Story About Finding Inner Peace In Patagonia

Life in London is hard.

Life in London as a gay single brown refugee is harder.

Juggling between work, my passion for traveling, and the prejudices that I dealt with on a daily basis eventually took their toll on me and I reached a breaking point.

The fact that I couldn’t return home to see my family and being away for them for almost nine years was enough to hammer in the final nail in the coffin.

I almost had a nervous breakdown and in that moment of desperation, which I knew would define the rest of my life, I took a month off and headed to Patagonia.

It was probably the best decision I’ve ever made in my life. The 36 hours it took me to get to El Chalten from London were tiring but Patagonia blew me away.

On my first day there I did a 28-kilometer (17-mile) hike which included a steep mountain climb. It was incredible how moving through the forest helped me clear my mind. And as I stood in front of Laguna de Los Tres, the rain and clouds gave way to sunshine and a rainbow.

I felt at peace.

The countless hikes, great food, and the warmth of locals in Chile and Argentina helped me get back in my skin and find the peace I was missing in my heart.

Nature is indeed the best medicine when it comes to stress relief and I won’t be coy about hugging trees to speed up the process (it did).

Patagonia was life-changing for me.

The beauty of nature struck me at each point and every time I thought it wasn’t possible to beat the view, the next one did just that.

I came back a changed, resilient, and most importantly, a happy person.

-Ucman from BrownBoyTravels

10. Looking Inwards & Making Connections With Strangers

It was decades before I traveled solo for the first time in my life.

This trip — a six-day escape to Colorado — was the first trip that was not for business or family reasons but just to travel and discover.

As I prepared for it, I had a strange feeling of excitement and nerves at the same time. I had all sorts of thoughts and doubts:

Would it be fun?

Would I be bored?

Would I stay in bed all day or would I bounce with excitement to do the next thing?

I wasn’t sure. Little did I know that it was going to be a memorable journey of self-discovery. 

As a good wife and mom, for me travel is always about the family; always thinking of who would enjoy what. It’s about family time and bonding. It’s about creating memories and travel stories together. It’s all so wonderful.

But on a solo trip who would I connect with? What would I say?

Well, I found that I got to do anything I wanted!

Usually when I travel with my family, if I feel like going on a drive that’s not on the itinerary or getting a snack no one else is interested in, we simply don’t do that.

So it was weird to just go do it. Really, that’s a thing?

As for making connections, it was so easy to meet locals while traveling and also to connect with other travelers. Honestly, I had conversations everywhere — on planes, while hiking, in restaurants, in the hotel lobby.

It was quite an eye-opening experience to meet a mom of 18 kids and hundreds of foster kids, a cookie baker, a professional photographer, a family of Fourteener hikers, and an internationally ranked marathon runner.

The inspiring stories I discovered were amazing and nothing like my wonderful safe life at home. 

In terms of travel safety , I got to go rock climbing, solo hiking, driving up a Fourteener, eating alone.

And it was all fine. Actually, it felt surprisingly normal.

It was was just me, my SUV, and my backpack for a week. Most of all, it was a breath of fresh air that I didn’t know existed. 

It’s wonderful to be back home and know that possibilities are endless and there is so much more out there to explore and be wowed by!

-Jyoti from Story At Every Corner

11. A Solo Hike To Find Connection

I have traveled solo many times, but I admit I was a bit uneasy booking my trip to Colombia . In part, due to the country’s dark past. But also because I desperately wanted to do the Cocora Valley hike, and if I’m honest, I was terrified.

This hike is located in the Coffee Triangle, an area recognized for its beauty as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It features both rainforest and a stunning green valley speckled with cartoonishly-tall wax palms rising 200 feet or more.

It’s incredibly beautiful.

It’s also a long hike and quite challenging — it generally takes between six and eight hours and there is a steep area with over 3,000 feet of elevation within a quarter of a mile.

I wasn’t in hiking shape, so I was a little concerned. But, worst of all for me were the seven dodgy-looking suspension bridges. 

I’m terrified of heights.

And, I’d be going alone.

I decided to go anyway and I met an incredible woman on the bus to Salento, the town near Cocora. She was also traveling solo and we agreed to hike together.

The town is a backpacker enclave and we met up with a small group of people all traveling solo. As the days passed, our group got larger and it was such a magical experience.

As much as I love city travel, this small town won my heart.

My new friend and I set off on the hike and met two other women who were nervous to do the hike. We all went together.

When we got to the first suspension bridge, I paused. I was embarrassed to admit my fear, but the bridge swayed widely and there was nowhere to hold onto.

When they realized how out of my comfort zone I was and how scared I felt, everything changed. Instead of me dealing with it alone, they were all there to encourage me.

One crossed the bridge to encourage me from the other side and they stayed off of it to limit the sway. Crazy enough, I not only crossed the seven suspension bridges, but I also crossed one an extra time when we went the wrong way on the trail.

I did it! 

I was prepared to be blown away by Cocora Valley’s beauty, but what I wasn’t expecting was what a life-changing travel experience my time there would be.

 -Sam from My Flying Leap

12. How A Pet Sitting Travel Experience Led To A Passionate Career

We wanted to go to the Caribbean but didn’t know much about the islands or how we were going to afford it.

By chance, a friend of ours in Australia mentioned “pet sitting” and that it is something you can do all over the world.

We quickly created an account on a pet sitting website and began searching for options. There were only a couple of sits available in that part of the world, but we tried our luck, sent a request, and to our surprise landed a three-month gig in a beautiful house in the US Virgin Islands — with an infinity pool overlooking the British Virgin Islands.

A month into our sit, we had explored the destination pretty well and so had a lot of time on our hands. We managed to secure another sit in Grenada, so our year was going to be taken up with Caribbean pet sits.

Inspired by a Canadian couple that had previously stayed at our Grenada housesit, we decided to start our own travel blog. We began by writing about The Virgin Islands, highlighting the beautiful beaches and funky bars.

But for every photo of a beautiful beach there were 10 photos of trash.     

It was hard to ignore the plastic pollution issue, especially on such pristine and remote beaches.  So, we began to share photos of the trash we saw and how much we could pick up on our daily dog walks.

The more we looked into plastic pollution, the more we realized the severity of the global plastic pandemic. From that point, we used our platform to create awareness and highlight ways to say no to plastic and travel plastic-free .

We changed our daily routines, our way of living, and even our diets to accommodate more organic foods and little to no plastic packaging.

It’s been over three years now and we continue to do what we can. This journey has led us to some amazing places, working with great conscious brands and even organizing a country-wide beach clean-up campaign in Grenada.

Our aim now is to keep on going.

We love connecting with like-minded people and love the shift over the last few years that brands have made towards creating more sustainable products and services.

It’s been an amazing few years that was sparked by a conversation about pet sitting. Who would have guessed?

-Aaron & Vivien from The Dharma Trails

13. Learning To Slow Down The Hard Way

On Christmas of 2017, I was born again.

We like to spend our Christmas holidays somewhere warm abroad, and that year we chose Uganda.

Nature, wildlife, and sunny days were a blessing when it was so cold and dark in Europe. Life was beautiful, and we had a rental car and a busy schedule ahead to explore the country.

This is where this short travel story turns into one of my more scary travel experiences :

At Murchinson Falls National Park, we had a car accident.

I lost control of the car, and it rolled over, destroying windows, chassis, and engine.

But we were alive! My right arm was severely injured, but we managed to walk to our lodge, not far inside the park.

In the lodge, I was happy to learn that there was a pretty decent American hospital in Masindi that was just a one-hour drive from the lodge. Moreover, one of the lodge’s guests was a nurse who cleaned the wound while we were waiting for the taxi from/to Masindi.

The hospital took care of us, and after a couple of injections and stitches, I was ready to head to our new hotel in Masindi; however, my wound required daily dressing and more injections, so we were asked to stay in town for a few days.   

Masindi is the kind of place where you may want to stop to buy some food or water, but that’s it.

The town’s highlights were the market and our daily visit to the hospital, so we ended up looking for the small things, chatting with the medical staff, the hotel staff, the people in the market, and learning more about their customs.

We learned to slow down the hard way.

When we were allowed to leave, we took a road trip south through the country to see something else. We did not care about our travel bucket list anymore — we were alive, and we wanted to enjoy Uganda’s unique nature and its people. 

In the end, our Uganda trip was not about the places that we saw, but the people that we met. It was travel for experience vs sightseeing.

I hope to revisit Uganda one day, with a stop at Masindi for some food, water, and maybe something else.

-Elisa from World in Paris

14. A Cycling Trip To Remember

During the summer of 2019, I cycled solo from London to Istanbul. This huge bicycle tour took me 89 days and through 11 countries.

As you might expect, it was a challenging yet incredible journey, which saw me pedal along some of Europe’s greatest rivers, pass through some of its best cities, and witness some of its most beautiful scenery.

It’s becoming more and more important for us to think about the impact that travel can have on our environment. This was the inspiration for my bicycle tour; I wanted to find more responsible ways to explore the world and avoid flights where possible.

I discovered that bicycle touring is one of the most eco-friendly ways to travel, as using nothing but a bicycle and your own pedal power you can carry everything you need while covering surprising distances each day.

The simplicity of life and the sheer amount of time I spent cycling alone gave me a lot of time to just think . This really helped me to come to terms with some personal problems rooted in my past and, as a result, I arrived solo in Istanbul with newly found confidence, independence, and liberation. 

Cycling across the entire European continent may seem like an impossibly daunting task, but I assure you, it will make you feel like a new person, just like it did for me.

-Lauren from The Planet Edit

15. How The Caribbean Shaped Me Into A Fully Sustainable Traveler

One of my first international trips as an adult was traveling around the Caribbean .

I checked into my hotel in Jamaica and asked for a recommendation for a local place to eat. The receptionist told me that under no circumstances should I should go into the town because it was really dangerous, but that — to my luck — the hotel’s restaurant offered wonderful Caribbean food.

I pondered my options:

Did I really want to spend all my time on the beach without getting to know a single local?

I was a very inexperienced traveler and very young, but there was only one answer to my question:

Absolutely not. I was not going to be visiting a new place and staying hostage in a hotel chain. So out I went.

The poverty hit me in the face. After only seeing fancy resorts, the reality was hard to swallow.

A few locals approached me and were super curious as to what I was doing there alone, since most tourists didn’t go there.

I told them I was interested in meeting them and experiencing their culture. And just like that, I was embraced.

We met more people, had some food, and then we danced the night away. They had so little, yet they wanted to share it with me. They wanted to make me feel welcome.

And they undeniably did.

The next morning all I could think about was how all the money most tourists spend goes to big corporations. The locals have to be thankful if they get a job that pays minimum wage, while foreign businesses earn millions.

I have always been environmentally conscious, but this trip made it clear that sustainability goes well beyond nature and wildlife.

It’s also about communities.

From then on I always look for locally owned accommodation, eateries, guides, and souvenirs.

Sustainability, with everything it entails, became a motto for me and changed the very essence of the way I travel.

-Coni from  Experiencing the Globe

16. Lessons From My Students In Peru

One of the most life-changing trips I’ve ever been on was a volunteering experience in the stunning city of Cuzco in Peru.

In this last travel experience, I spent a month there teaching English and Italian to a group of local adults. And even though my time there was short, the travel experience was so humbling that it changed my outlook on life.

My lessons took the form of active conversations, which essentially turned into a massive multilingual cultural exchange between me and my students. Hearing my students talk about their lives — and realizing just how different they were from mine — made me look at my own life with a fresh new perspective.

One person spoke about the three years he spent living in a jungle with his dad, where they fed off of animals they hunted in order to survive.

Another student told me about her ultimate dream of mastering English so that she could become a tour guide and have a more stable future.

For me, these stories were a reminder of just how small I am in this world and how much we can get consumed by the small bubbles we live in. 

Most of all, my students showed a passion and appreciation for life that I’d never witnessed before.

This is true for the locals I met in Cuzco in general. The quality of life in Cuzco is very modest; hot water is scarce and you learn to live with little.

But the locals there do way more than just that — they spontaneously parade the streets with trumpets and drums just because they’re feeling happy, and their energy for the simple things in life is incredibly contagious.

It was impossible to not feel inspired in Cuzco because my students always had the biggest smiles on their faces, and the locals showed me again and again that simply being alive is a blessing.

I went to Peru to teach, but ended up learning more from my students and the locals there than they did from me.

Ever since I got back from that trip, I made it a goal to slow down and not take the simple things in life for granted.

Every time I get upset about something, I think about the Peruvians in Cuzco parading their streets in song and pure joy, and I tell myself to stop complaining.

-Jiayi from  The Diary of a Nomad

17. Braving Travel With Chronic Pain

Santiago de Compostela is a beautiful city with a prominent cathedral positioned centrally within the city.

While the historical cathedral attracts numerous visitors, even more well-known is the route to Santiago de Compostela, Camino de Santiago –- the world-famous pilgrimage route that has a plethora of trailheads and ends in Santiago. 

Home to locals, students, English teachers, and those on a spiritual pilgrimage, personal conquest, or a great outdoor hiking excursion, Santiago is a magical city.

My introduction to Santiago de Compostela doesn’t begin on the pilgrimage route, yet ends with a spiritual awakening analogous with those other unique pilgrimage stories.

It was my first solo trip abroad teaching English in Spain, a country that’s always been on my travel bucket list. A small town outside of Santiago was selected as the school I’d be teaching at for the year.

Unknowingly, this teach abroad program chose the perfect city for me to live in. 

A year prior, I suffered a traumatic brain injury that left me unable to function normally and complete average tasks. Migraines, headaches, and dizziness became my body’s normal temperament, a hidden disability invisible to the naked eye. 

Braving travel with chronic pain was the first lesson I learned during the trip.

The vast green outdoors and fresh dew from the morning rain enlivened me daily and reminded me about the importance of slowing down so I could enjoy traveling with my hidden disability. 

I also learned to stop often for daily tea breaks and to embrace the long lunch hour,  siestas , with good food, company, and a nap to rest.

Meeting locals , indulging in local food, and learning Spanish allowed me to connect deeply with the beautiful culture of Santiago. After all, my dream was to travel to Spain, and I more than accomplished that dream.

Difficult or not, I learned to own my dream and I was more than surprised with the results.

Who knew that a year after my injury I’d be traveling the world with chronic pain, and for that, I’m eternally grateful.

-Ciara from Wellness Travel Diaries

18. A Blessing In Disguise

2020 has been a wild year for all of us and foreign students in China are no exception. As soon as the malevolent virus began to make its rounds in China, our university sent us home for “two weeks.”

However, within a short time, countries began to shut their borders and these “two weeks” turned into months, a full year even.

Crushed by the burden of online lectures and virtual labs, my boyfriend and I packed our bags and caught one of the first flights to his home country of Pakistan.

I had always been an over-ambitious traveler. I believed numbers were everything — the number of countries I visited, the number of hours I spent on a plane, the number of international trips I took in a year. These numbers were what defined me.

My feet were constantly itching and I never liked to spend more than a few days in a place before heading to the next country. Revisiting a place felt superfluous to me.

That’s why I was hoping to spend a month or two in Pakistan and then continue to check new countries off the list — after all, my online classes finally granted me the freedom to “work on my numbers.”

But as is usually the case in 2020, things turned out quite different from what I had expected. Borders remained closed and worldwide infections stayed rampant. At this point, I have already spent nearly half a year in Pakistan.

During this peculiar time, however, an amazing thing happened:

My mindset about travel started to change and I began to look at my long stay in Pakistan as perhaps my most valuable travel experience ever.

I may not have visited dozens of countries like in previous years but my experiences were deeper than ever before.

From trekking to one of the world’s tallest mountains to sharing tea with heavily armed officers at nearly 5,000 meters altitude to exploring hidden beaches in the most secluded regions to spontaneously being invited to village homes, my adventures in Pakistan couldn’t have been more incredible. They opened my eyes to the sheer diversity of many countries and completely transformed my idea about traveling. 

It took me nearly a full year of heavy restrictions on international travel and a few months in one of the world’s most fascinating countries to give up on my superficial ideals and become a more mature traveler.

This time will always have a special place in my heart.

-Arabela from The Spicy Travel Girl

19. What The River Taught Me

My travel story takes place in the summer of 2017 — the final summer before I graduated university — as it continues to play a significant role in the person I’ve become.

When I say that, people ask me if it was the portion of the summer I spent solo backpacking in Europe . And to their surprise, it wasn’t. It was actually the latter portion of the summer where I stayed closer to home.

For July and August I worked as a canoe guide leading whitewater canoe trips on remote rivers in Canada. It was here that I got to canoe the powerful and iconic Missinaibi River, a river that continues to influence me all these years later.

The Missinaibi River flows from the powerful Lake Superior to the even more powerful salty waters of James Bay. Here, I led a group of eight teenagers through dozens of whitewater rapids over 500 kilometers (~311 miles).

With no cell service for 25 days, we were forced to disconnect from anything other than the river.

During this trip I learned two important lessons:

First, I learned to be confident in my own abilities as a leader and problem solver.

There were a few rapids where my campers’ boats flipped and I had to rescue the campers and the canoes. One rescue saw two boats flip on a mile-long rapid. It took six hours to make it down the rapid, and during this time I managed stuck canoes and crying campers.

And while this was one of the most difficult rescues I’ve done, I was amazed at how calm I was throughout it. I gave clear directions, prioritized effectively, and kept my campers safe throughout the entire experience. Following the rescue, I had a newfound sense of confidence in my abilities.

The second lesson I learned on the Missinaibi was the power of disconnecting from society and connecting with the people around you.

A wild river commands all of your attention. Each day, you and your group must take down camp, load canoes, paddle up to eight hours while navigating both rapids and portages, get to a new campsite, set up camp, cook dinner, and go to bed.

And without the distraction of technology, your attention has nowhere else to be. You focus on the river and your teammates.

As someone who had wrestled with anxiety and depression prior to this summer, I felt at total ease on the trip. Now I seek societal disconnection and human connection as much as I can. 

Sometimes the most profound, life-altering trips are the least expected trips closer to home.

-Mikaela of  Voyageur Tripper

More Short Travel Experience Stories

Looking for another story about travelling? Check out these short and unique travel stories!

25 Crazy Travel Stories You Need To Read To Believe

23 Inspiring Travel Stories Sharing The Kindness Of Strangers

17 True Short Adventure Travel Stories To Inspire Your Next Trip

38 Inspiring Travel Love Stories From The Road

16 Short Funny Travel Stories That Will Make You Laugh

20 Embarrassing Travel Stories That Will Make You Laugh & Blush

21 Travel Horror Stories About Scary Travel Experiences

Do you have any inspiring travel experience stories about life-changing trips to share?

Enjoyed these inspiring stories about travel? Pin this blog about travel experience stories for later!

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About jessie festa.

Jessie Festa is an New York-based travel content creator who is passionate about empowering her audience to experience new places and live a life of adventure. She is the founder of the solo female travel blog, Jessie on a Journey, and is editor-in-chief of Epicure & Culture , an online conscious tourism magazine. Along with writing, Jessie is a professional photographer and is the owner of NYC Photo Journeys , which offers New York photo tours, photo shoots, and wedding photography. Her work has appeared in publications like USA Today, CNN, Business Insider, Thrillist, and WestJet Magazine.

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These stories are so much fun to read! Thanks so much for putting a post like this together. It’s great to be able to check out other people’s blogs and read about other people’s experiences!

Always great to read about travel experiences of others. Some great stories to read over coffee. I’ve Pinned your post for future reference and to share with others. Will check out each story author’s blog as well. Great Job! 🙂

Amazing story for new traveler like me thanks for your contribution

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Short Adventure Stories from around the World – Machu Picchu to Sandboarding

The Adventurous Traveler is always seeking for the adrenalin-kick, the special experience to feel alive. Find real-life travel stories from adventurous traveler all over the world. These stories were contributed by the Hostelgeeks community.

Keen for even more entertaining and inspiring travel stories? Check out are huge collection below.

Read all the great stories from around the world. You can instantly share them as well if you enjoy them!

Find all 180+ short travel stories here.

Feeling liberated in Norway!

My boyfriend and I spent last August in Norway.

Our first stop was Trolltunga, 22 km of walking through snow, mud, rain, wind and darkness. Two days later we hiked Pulpit Rock , almost half the distance, this second hike seemed like a breeze compared to the first one.

We spent the rest of the time relaxing and exploring the beautiful county of Ryfylke – from a 10 Euro/day spa overlooking the lake, gazing at the incredible and numerous waterfalls, to aimlessly driving by the fjords.

I have always been scared of heights.

It had been less than a year since my foot surgery, accomplishing these hikes made me feel excited and liberated.

On one of our drives along the fjords, we found ourselves alone on the road surrounded by endless beauty, I felt like this was my chance to do something else I’ve always wanted to do…

When visiting Norway, hop over to Bergen. It is a beautiful city to visit with so many amazing things to do.

Read our guide on fun things to do in Bergen, Norway . Here is our guide to best hostels in Bergen .

Find more exciting Short Travel Stories here .

Catching the train with the police

After our Freedom Trail tour, we wandered around China Town in Boston in search of our next thing to do. We ended up reaching the train station and thought that maybe it’ll be cool to check out Gillette Stadium. We didn’t put much thought into it and next thing we knew, we’re on the train towards Walpole station.

It was quite a hassle getting to “Patriot Place” but we found it to be a cool spot to chill out. However, we failed to realize that there will be a back-to-back football match happening that late afternoon. We lingered around too long, and there were no means for us to get back to Walpole station. (Traffic was down, making it impossible for cabs to come in, and it was a long walk away).

When we saw a policeman down the street, we ran up to him, asking about other alternatives to rush back to Walpole for the last train leaving in 10 minutes. To our disbelief, he offered us a ride in the police car. So thanks to the Boston Police, we were back in Boston safe and sound, just in time to catch our bus to New York.

Read: 13 Crazy Travel Stories – when the Hostel burns down

Danger and Fear Climbing the Italian Dolomites Mountain

Having experienced many exposed and challenging Via Ferrata, I thought my rational fear had subsided over time. That was until my friends and I had to cross an icy bridge that was completely open to the elements.

Without the usual pseudo protection of my carabiner clips and iron wire, I suddenly felt extremely at risk.

Either side of the foot-wide ice-crossing were drops that had no bottom and considering we were climbing on a mountain that stood over 2000 m tall, my guess is that if I had slipped, I would not be re-telling this story today. If I learned only one thing – do not underestimate the Dolomite Mountains!

Read: Once In A Lifetime Travel Experiences – The Travel Stories

Machu Picchu’s Gigantic Aura – Reminder Why I Travel

On day three of the classic Inca Trail to Machu Picchu in Peru , we reached the summit of Abra de Runkuracay, eager to take in the surrounding views. The day was unusually warm; wispy white clouds rolled in and out of the deep green valleys, aided by a gentle breeze. We scuttled up to the highest point we could find.

Even though the clouds obstructed much of the view, I could feel the enormity of the valley we were perched above. I searched for snowy peaks in the distance, searched for the river far below. At that moment, I could do no more than revere my surroundings and feel that I was a part of something important.

The history enveloped me, the sights burned themselves into my memory, the crisp mountain air filled my lungs.  My overwhelmed senses were reminding me: This is why I travel .

Sandboarding at 65k through Namibia’s Dunes

We left Swakopmund, Namibia early in the morning and drove out to the dunes with the sand boards. It was a difficult trudge to the top, and I gulped when I got there and looked down the slope we would be using. Too late to wimp out, though.

I smeared the bottom of the board with wax, clipped in my boots and performed the backwards somersault they had shown us how to do to get started. Then I was up on my feet and scudding diagonally across the dune, balancing better than I imagined, and picking up more speed than felt safe. I shifted my weight to try to slow, but the board dug in and flung me forward, and I landed face-down in the sand and rolled. “ Like a helicopter taking off sideways,” someone said when I got back to the top, spitting sand.

I graduated then to lie-down boarding: headfirst on a sheet of ply at the top of the dune, pulling up the corners and barreling down the slope. The guy measuring the speed shouted “ 65k ”. Then the board caught and stopped dead, and I buried myself in the sand some distance ahead.

When starting your Africa-Experience, Namibia is the perfect spot. We’ve visited Tsumeb Backpackers in Tsumeb, a remarkable home on the road. Find all hostels in Tsumeb here .

Sun Rise in the Desert of Morocco – Lasting Travel Memories

Travel Memories! We love to think back of our time in the Moroccan desert.

Back in 2013 we were staying in the wild city of Marrakesh.

It was loud, it was colorful, many different smells run through our noses. It was truly a wow-experience to get to know Marrakesh. One day we got the opportunity to hop on a bus to a desert adventure. It was a bus tour with local guides on their way to the far desert, stopping at a few small towns in the mountains.

On the way we crossed the majestic Atlas Mountains, and there are tons of tiny villages hidden in the middle of nowhere.

Really impressive!

We spent the night in a small group of tents. In a bigger tent, we all came together to have dinner. After enjoying a Tajine loaded with Cous Cous and Vegetables, our new friends started to play some music, and everybody started singing.

The most impressive part of the whole night, however, was something different.

Have you ever seen 1 Billion stars?

This is how we felt whilst watching the clear sky in the cold desert. We both have never seen so many stars.

We decided to wake up early. We wanted to watch the sun climbing up behind the mountain and feel the first shafts of sunlight. This is when we took the photo, trying to freeze those good travel memories.

You can download our secret guide to Marrakesh here .

Read : complete guide to best hostels in Marrakech . We also have a guide for the best hostels in nearby Essaouira  and the best hostels in Casablanca .

We share here the best desert tour from Marrakesh, a handmade souvenir, and a secret spot you will love us for.

I believe I can fly – Tobogganing down a 3 km narrow piste

It was reassuring when, before trying out tobogganing for the first time, my friends admitted to being a little apprehensive. Staring down a 3 km narrow piste, with a flimsy wooden sled between me and the compact snow, I took a deep breath and pushed away. Before long, we were racing around bends and hitting speeds that sent the trees into a blur.

Suddenly it didn’t matter if we tumbled into the powder or got damp from the melt – we were once again 6 years old with absolutely no fear or a care in the world.

The Dangerous Roads in Morocco Across the Atlas Mountain

Traveling through Morocco by car is a great way to see this diverse and beautiful country. But the roads in Morocco can be diabolical . We rent a car and take off from Marrakesh airport. Within 5 minutes, we were lost, having missed the signposted turn-off to our destination. On entering the highway, we were greeted with an overturned truck.

We journey over the High Atlas Mountains. A steep, winding and rugged road, the main danger is not the drop-offs, or the wandering sheep, or even the overloaded trucks. The greatest danger were the Mercedes taxis that come hurtling at you from around every corner, horn blaring, speed limits ignored.

Read: best hostels in Morocco

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Perceptive Travel

The Good, Bad, and Confusing on the Maya Train

Sleeping on the Side of a Cliff at 11,000 Feet in Peru

Limping Home from Kashgar as a VIP

History and Hooch along the San Antonio River

June Book Reviews

Austin Rocks: The Paramount Theatre

Welcome to the June edition of Perceptive Travel, the online magazine featuring tales from wandering book authors.

We've got a collection of new travel stories from around the world for you again, though we do spend a lot of time in the Americas this go-round to offset the May retrospecctive on Europe.

Lydia Carey is back with a story on riding the new Maya Train in Mexico and stopping off a few places on the way, getting the vibe from other passengers and dealing with remote train stations in the Yucatan. I head to San Antonio to find part of Mexico that no longer is, one with a river you can walk along for the better part of a day.

Norm Baur and his wife decide that the ultimate aspirational hotel booking is to sleep and eat on the side of a cliff on the edge of the Sacred Valley in Peru.

James Dorsey returns with a story from China about a souvenir that becomes a golden ticket to special airport treatment and first class travel.

Gillian Kendall brings us three new book reviews: another National Park box tick-off, a history of travel and passports, and a mother-son road trip across America.

One Reader Gets a Foam Roller Two-pack

Each new issue we give away something cool to our traveling readers who subscribe or follow us. Congrats to Elliot and Debbie W of Massachussets: their number came up in the randomizer and they'll be ready to nap or sleep in the woods with the mini double hammock from Tentsile .

This time the company Oceanfoam is ready to help you with your aching back if you've been hiking, biking, or running around the pickleball court. And you can feel good about the planet while you're rolling out your spine or massaging your muscles too: these items include recycled plastic and algae bloom materials that also give them a unique design look. The winner gets a foam roller bundle that includes a full-size version for home and a smaller one to take on the road.

All you need to do is reply back to the monthly newsletter with the requested info or watch our Facebook page for entry instructions. This is no lottery—odds are so good that more than a few of our readers have won twice! So click that link and get on our list join us if you're not part of the club already.

Looking for some more great travel stories? Dive into the Perceptive Travel story archives, where you can find hundreds of travel stories from around the globe, everything that has appeared here since our debut in the mid-'00s. In between new online magazine issues, check out the award-winning Perceptive Travel Blog for shorter takes on weird and wonderful places around the world.

Thanks for reading our online travel magazine, - Tim Leffel, Editor

A Little Adrift… 23 Inspiring Travel Stories from Around the World

Last updated on January 21, 2024 by Shannon

It’s easy to share a list of the best travel books out there—although everyone has their favorites, there are a handful of books that always make the list. But inspiring travel stories are a different beast altogether.

These stories may come in the form of a book, such as a memoir detailing someone’s time on the road, or may be a journey noted in the history books, but in this digital age many of the best out there are actually in blog form.

When I left to travel the world in 2008 on a yearlong trip , there were just a handful of travelers sharing their inspiring stories via travel blogs (and later social media). Now there’s a diverse cast of characters of ever race, creed, and abilities who have made travel a priority and have embraced off-the-beaten-path adventures to every corner of the world.

Below are the best travels stories you can look to for inspiration—I included the books that tell a great tale, but also bloggers and historical figures who are notable for something about the way they traveled.

Table of Contents

The Best Online Travel Stories

Traveling blogging took off more than 15 years ago, growing from a small, close-knit collective to a sprawling industry. That said, a lot of travel stories just sound the same after a while. I’ve read travel blogs since 2007, when I was planning my round the world trip , and some stories are just a lot more compelling than the rest.

The travel community is also a lot more diverse—less WASPy and more inclusive. The travel stories below excel in some way that sets them apart. Either it’s the family’s incredible photography and aspirational adventures, or the voice of a storyteller that keeps you coming back for more.

Roads & Kingdoms

Roads & Kingdom is a captivating website that delivers phenomenal travel storytelling. Not only are the stories fascinating—and impeccably written and edited—but the immersive articles share stunning photography, and thought-provoking narratives.

Each story takes readers on a journey around the world, shedding light on diverse cultures, untold stories, and lesser-known destinations. Its unique blend of travel, politics, and culture creates a rich tapestry of exploration that goes beyond typical travel writing, offering a deeper understanding of the places they cover.

The site is run with one simple idea at the core: The more you know, the better you travel. The long-form features and useful information are aimed at armchair and aisle-seat travelers alike.

Before his death, Anthony Bourdain was Roads & Kingdoms’ sole investor—head to the “ Dispatched by Bourdain ” section for the most deeply reported, fascinating travel stories on the site.

Fearless & Far on YouTube

If you prefer your travel inspiration via video, then this adventure travel YouTube channel is the antidote to your wanderlust. It’s a wild ride with Mike Corey, who serves up his travel adventures with a side of danger in many cases—but not all!

His fascinating “Lost Tribes” series showcases a unique side of destinations you won’t find shared in many written travel stories. He’s also just charming and personable and it’s fun to watch his travel story unfold in real time as he wanders the globe.

Erik Gauger of Notes from the Road

There’s a lot to love about Gauger’s travelogue, chief among it that he focuses on storytelling and not travel advice. What you find when you read and follow Notes from the Road is funny, powerful and personal travel stories from all over the world.

What a concept! But its rare to find on travel blogs these days, so if you’re keen to follow an ordinary guy’s extraordinary adventures around the world, this is the one to follow.

He’s adventurous but not so adventurous that you think, “wow, that’s nuts” and travelers will find humor, warmth, and inspiration from his large collection of travel stories dating back to when his blog started in 1999 (not a typo!).

Jeff Jenkins of Chubby Diaries

Jeff Jenkins, the adventurous soul behind the Chubby Diaries , offers a fun and inspiring travel story that challenges stereotypes and embraces body positivity. He’s a bit of a character, so it makes a fun travel story to follow via his Instagram account .

Jeff is now a National Geographic Travel Host, and uses his online platforms to share his remarkable journey as a plus-size traveler, encouraging others to pursue their wanderlust fearlessly and unapologetically.

With his infectious enthusiasm, Jeff breaks down barriers and promotes inclusivity, proving that one’s size should never limit their ability to explore the world. His uplifting presence and empowering message make him a beacon of travel inspiration for travelers of all shapes and sizes—he’s a good reminder that travel is for everyone.

The Bucket List Family

The Bucket List Family—a husband, wife, and their three photogenic children—shares adventurous travel stories on Instagram and YouTube . I’ve followed their travel story for years now, and as an experienced traveler I still love traveling vicariously through their family adventures.

They offer stunning photography and heartfelt narratives, and bring followers on a virtual exploration of the world’s most captivating destinations. Beyond showcasing picturesque locations, they emphasize the importance of shared family adventures and creating lasting memories. My young son was born in 2021, so although he’s already visited eight countries with me, I’m still inspired by the places they take their kids—many of which are on my own bucket list.

The Bucket List Family’s story focuses on experiences over material possessions—but keep in mind they are very wealthy (one-percenters), so they go on some super bougie trips that are aspirational for most.

While they certainly weren’t the first family travel storytellers , as they claim, they do a great job. They encourage travelers to step out of their comfort zones, embrace the unknown, and prioritize quality time together—a message I can get behind. Although they technically have a website, they don’t blog. Their travel story is best followed Instagram and YouTube .

This website was a curation platform that, while it no longer shares new articles, has a treasure trove of absolutely stunning short travel stories—most are readable in about 10-20 minutes. It’s a great sadness that it’s no longer updated with fresh stories, but you can get lost for hours in the archives.

The best place to get started is with this travel story, “ Weavers of the Sky ,” or this one, “ Keepers of Ganesh: The Vanishing Art of Mahout. ” Or head to the editor’s picks page for a curated list of the best of the archives.

Oneika Raymond from Oneika the Traveller

Oneika Raymond is an Emmy-winning travel storyteller. Her stories are engaging and authentic, and she’s all about promoting inclusivity and breaking down misconceptions. Oneika’s posts inspire travelers to step out of your comfort zone and embrace the beauty of different cultures. It’s like getting tips from a friend who’s passionate about travel and believes in the power of exploration to bring people together.

While her website now pumps out more generic travel planning content, following her on Facebook is the perfect way to collect the best pieces of her travel story that encourage cultural exploration and adventure—she regularly re-shares her best videos, stories, and photos from her years of travel.

Best Historical Travel Stories

Gertrude bell.

Gertrude Bell, often dubbed as the “Queen of the Desert,” was an extraordinary woman who defied societal norms and embarked on incredible journeys across the Middle East in the early 20th century.

A British explorer, archaeologist, and writer, she traversed vast deserts, climbed mountains, and immersed herself in the cultures of the region. Her inspiring travel story lies in her unwavering determination, intelligence, and deep respect for the people and places she encountered.

Bell’s book, A Woman in Arabia: The Writings of the Queen of the Desert , encapsulates her adventurous spirit and offers an intimate glimpse into her experiences, documenting her encounters with tribal leaders, her insights into the region’s history and politics, and her unique perspectives on the challenges faced by women in those times.

Her courageous and independent spirit continues to inspire travelers, historians, and feminists alike, making her an icon of female exploration and an incredible travel story even today.

Ibn Battuta

One notable historic travel adventure that captivates the imagination is the journey of Ibn Battuta, an explorer from the 14th century. Ibn Battuta embarked on a remarkable travel odyssey that spanned over 30 years and covered a distance exceeding 75,000 miles, making him one of history’s greatest adventurers.

His extensive travels took him across the Islamic world, including North Africa, the Middle East, India, and even as far as China. Battuta’s story is inspiring due to his fearlessness, curiosity, and the vastness of his exploration, which allowed him to experience diverse cultures, encounter various civilizations, and encounter numerous challenges along the way.

His travel story provides insights into the medieval world and serves as a testament to the enduring spirit of exploration. Although there are translations of his travelogue available, Ibn Battuta: A Muslim Traveler of the Fourteenth Century by Ross E. Dunn is a good option to really immerse in his journey because Dunn provides a lot of historical and societal context that enriches Battuta’s story.

Emily Hahn, a trailblazing adventurer and writer, holds an inspiring travel story that spans the globe and breaks boundaries. Known as the “Mickey Mouse girl” due to her unconventional lifestyle, Hahn fearlessly journeyed to places that were deemed off-limits for women in the early 20th century.

From exploring the remote regions of China, where she witnessed political upheavals and became an unofficial concubine, to her daring escapades in the African wilderness and beyond, Hahn’s travels were marked by her independent spirit and relentless curiosity.

Her travel story, No Hurry to Get Home: The Memoir of the New Yorker Writer Whose Unconventional Life and Adventures Spanned the Twentieth Century , is captivating. Her memoir showcases her extraordinary life and captures the essence of her adventurous spirit. Emily Hahn’s audacious exploration and refusal to conform to societal norms make her an inspiring figure, leaving a lasting legacy for women in travel and writing.

Sir Ernest Shackleton

There’s just something magical about the travel stories of the great explorers from history. With the world so connected, these kinds of harrowing travel journeys are more rare (thankfully!). Shackleton’s extraordinary expedition to Antarctica in the early 20th century is renowned for its remarkable story of survival and endurance.

In 1914, Shackleton and his crew set out on the ill-fated Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, aiming to cross the Antarctic continent. However, their ship, the Endurance, became trapped in ice, eventually sinking. Shackleton and his crew were stranded on the ice for months before embarking on a perilous journey in lifeboats to reach Elephant Island.

Despite the immense challenges they faced, Shackleton displayed exceptional leadership, courage, and resourcefulness, ensuring the survival of his entire crew. His story of perseverance and determination in the face of extreme adversity continues to inspire adventurers and explorers to this day.

Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing is a classic adventure travel story and makes for a great read. (And if you love this style of historical adventure travel, I truly loved The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt’s Darkest Journey , which I read in just two days .)

Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou, an iconic poet, author, and civil rights activist, embarked on a profound and inspiring travel journey that shaped her worldview and enriched her literary voice. Through her autobiographical work, All God’s Children Need Traveling Shoes , Angelou chronicles her time living in Ghana during the 1960s, immersing herself in the vibrant tapestry of African culture and the fight for independence.

Her travel story is one of self-discovery, resilience, and profound connection, as she navigates the complexities of identity, racial inequality, and personal growth.

Maya Angelou’s courage to venture into unknown territories, both geographically and emotionally, and her ability to find strength and inspiration amidst adversity, inspires readers around the world. Her travel experiences beautifully illustrate the transformative power of exploration and the importance of embracing diverse cultures and perspectives.

10 Best Travel Stories on A Little Adrift

I’m guilty of sharing a fair bit of travel tips and advice for travelers of all shapes—I have detailed cost of living guides for countries around the world, as well as travel guides to my favorite countries in the world.

But deep in my 15 years of archives are travel stories and photography that I remain proud of, even if they’re not search-friendly content that’s likely to appear at the top of Google Search. These are the best travel stories from my years on the road.

• A Journey to Uncover What Sustainable Coffee Really Means : The journey an Akha hill tribe community in rural Northern Thailand is taking toward creating a sustainable business and social enterprise. Filled with beautiful photographs from their community and their journey toward fair-trade sustainability.
• How One Maasai Chief is Using Tourism to Change His Community : An innovative Maasai chief and his community are using tourism funds to help end FGM in Maasai communities and instead educate girls.
• The Case for Using Tourism to Help Destinations Recover : In the wake of Nepal’s devastating earthquake, this piece looks at how tourism shapes rural economies and how it can be a vehicle to help these communities recover after natural disasters.
• A Guest is a Gift from God : One of my favorite memories from Tbilisi, Georgia was sitting under the Mother Georgia statue with group of locals for an evening of song, conversation, and snacks. In short, for the famous Georgian hospitality.
• A Pastel Sunrise Over Wadi Rum : A dawn camel ride as the sun is rising over Jordan’s desert is etched in my memory as the pinks and blues tinted the sand and rocks.
• An Unexpected Afternoon with a Taco Stand Family : A simple question leads to a wonderful afternoon learning about Mexico’s blue corn.
• Peat Fireplaces, Rugged Ireland, & Something Special : Ireland holds such a special place in my heart, the smells of fireplaces mixed with yeasty beer and flowing conversation ebb and flow throughout the island.
• A Child’s Journey Through Chinese New Year : Go on the journey of Chinese New Year festivities in Thailand’s Chinatown told through the eyes of a young child.
• A Secret Spot in Ireland’s Heart : Ireland is an island of mystery as I tap into the cadence and rhythm of the locals speech, lore, and attitudes while hiking through sheep pastures and along coastlines.
• This One’s for Africa : Riding the local transport in East Africa leads to some hilarious encounters that constantly reminded me, “Oh yeah, this is Africa.”
• Finding the Travel Spark in Yangon : After years on the road it’s a single moment in Burma that pinpoints for me why I travel and reignites the wanderlust.

Looking for more inspiration? I’ve curated the best travel books not only in general, but for each region of the world.